The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2025 season in 78 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 78 - freshman offensive tackle Ethan Thomason.
Ethan Thomason's background
Get ready, BYU fans. This guy could be good.
Thomason was a big-time recruit in the class of 2022. His 247 Sports rating of 89 put him near four-star territory and placed him as the No. 4 overall prospect in the state of Colorado. He was one of the crown jewels in BYU's recruiting class that year before serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Independence, Missouri.
The 6-foot-8, 315-pound mauler boasted an impressive list of scholarship offers coming out of high school. A host of Big 12 schools offered him, including Texas Tech, Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona State, and Utah. After weighing his plethora of options, Thomason decided to call BYU home.
Given his size and athleticism, Thomason conjures images of Blake Freeland at left tackle should he be able to play himself back into shape after serving a mission.
I’ll be signing my NLI to Brigham Young University today! #GoCougs 💙🤙 pic.twitter.com/z6mmyH04fT
— Ethan Thomason (@EthanThomason77) December 21, 2022
Thomason's potential impact in 2025
The good news is Thomason has all of the tools and talent to contribute sooner than later at BYU.
The reality is it usually takes time for freshmen to get back into football shape after serving a full-time mission. It will be interesting to see where Thomason lands on BYU's depth chart. While senior Isaiah Jatta will likely start at left tackle, there isn't a ton of proven depth behind him. The website Ourlads currently projects Thomason as LT3 behind Jatta and redshirt sophomore Jake Griffin. But Griffin isn't a proven commodity and has yet to appear in a game for the Cougars, so Thomason could potentially push him for a roster spot.
If Ethan Thomason can get back into football shape sooner than later, he could land somewhere on the two-deep roster.
Or his transition back to Power Four football could be a slow process, which happens, and this season become a redshirt year for the high-potential talent. Either way, Thomason will gain valuable experience this year as he begin the process of building what could become a special career in Provo.